The story
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: A concept, belief, or message that propagates through a population by, analogized to the spread of a biological virus; a self-replicating idea or notion that spreads between individuals, typically by exploiting psychological incentives such as fear, hope, or social pressure. Full definition →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.